Balanced-breathing pressure suit with helmet and hand-operated control valve

ABSTRACT

The invention is directed toward improved breathing comfort for an aviator subjected to rarified atmosphere at high altitudes. It employs a vest or jerkin which can be fitted by zipper over a passive pressure unit. The vest has secured to its interior a bladder which extends from front thigh up over the shoulder to the rear thigh position. A standard form of helmet is hermetically sealed to the neckline of the vest. Oxygen under pressure is introduced into the bladder and the helmet through a hand-operated valve which may be secured to the vest. This valve has three positions, (1) &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;Off,&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; (2) &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;Fill&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; and (3) &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;Mission Complete&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; and has a single tubing to the helmet and a double tubing to the bladder. One of the latter is employed for supplying the bladder with gas. The other of the double tubing contains a pressure-operated check valve which closes the passage between the helmet and the bladder in the event of bladder failure. The aviator would normally turn the valve, first to position (1) to supply the helmet with oxygen and to exhaust the interior of the bladder. He would then turn to position (2) which continues the oxygen supply to the helmet, and in addition, would fill the bladder with oxygen at a pressure as would make breathing more comfortable as the higher altitudes are reached. In the event that the bladder becomes punctured with flake or shrapnel and therefore unable to retain the gas, the valve is moved to position (3) to cause the oxygen, in excess of that necessary for the helmet, to escape to ambient atmosphere through the check valve.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Leonard Harris 4935 Joe Blanks, SanAntonio, Text. 78237 [21] Appl. No. 31,700 [22] Filed Apr. 24, 1970 [45]Patented Dec.2l,l97l

[54] BALANCED-BREATHING PRESSURE SUIT WITH HELMET AND HAND-OPERATEDCONTROL VALVE 3 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl. 128/1425 [51] Int.Cl A621) 7/14 [50] Field otSearch128/1425, 1 R, 1 A,28, 30, 30.2,l42.6;2/2.1A

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,528,414 9/1970 Sehueller128/1425 3,463,150 8/1969 Penfold 128/1425 2,886,027 5/1959 Henry 128/15 2,404,020 7/1946 Akerman.. 128/1425 3,284,805 11/1966 Seeler 128/1425FOREIGN PATENTS 955,099 4/1964 Great Britain 2/2.] A

Primary Examiner-Richard A. Gaudet Assistant Examiner-J. B. MitchellAttorneysHarry A. Herbert, Jr. and Herbert H. Brown ABSTRACT: Theinvention is directed toward improved breathing comfort for an aviatorsubjected to rarified atmosphere at high altitudes. It employs a vest orjerkin which 'can be fitted by zipper over a passive pressure unit. Thevest e e n I I I I I I I b I n I I n u l t I l I has secured to itsinterior a bladder which extends from front thigh up over the shoulderto the rear thigh position. A standard form of helmet is hermeticallysealed to the neckline of the vest. Oxygen under pressure is introducedinto the'bladder and the helmet through a hand-operated valve which maybe secured to the vest. This valve has three positions, (1) Off, (2)Fill and (3) Mission Complete and has a single tubing to the helmet anda double tubing to the bladder. One of the latter is employed forsupplying the bladder with gas. The other of the double tubing containsa pressure-operated check valve which closes the passage between thehelmet and the bladder in the event of bladder failure. The aviatorwould normally turn the valve, first to position (1) to supply thehelmet with oxygen and to exhaust the interior of the bladder. He wouldthen turn to position (2) which continues the oxygen supply to thehelmet, and in addition, would fill the bladder with oxygen at apressure as would make breathing more comfortable as the higheraltitudes are reached. In the event that the bladder becomes puncturedwith flake or shrapnel and therefore unable to retain the gas, the valveis moved to position (3) to cause the oxygen, in excess of thatnecessary for the helmet, to escape to ambient atmosphere through thecheck valve.

BALANCED-BREATIIING PRESSURE SUIT WITH HELMET AND HAND-OPERATED CONTROLVALVE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In an attempt to alleviate thediscomfort of breathing at high altitudes, the prior art has developedpressure suits to which a helmet is hermetically attached. Oxygen isintroduced into the suit and helmet. Suits of this type are usually madein coverall form of two thicknesses of garment, one within the other.The outer garment is airtight except some provision is made forventilation and is made of a nonstretchable material. The inner garmentis of a rubberized character so as to be expandable and contractable andusually lies next to the bare skin of the aviator. Oxygen at about 5 topounds p.s.i.a. is admitted to the space between the two thicknesses offabric and also to the attached helmet. As the plane reaches highaltitudes and the ambient air becomes rarified, the oxygen within thesuit expands and since the outer garment is held in restraint, i.e.,inextensible, the inner garment is caused to press inwardly against thebody of the aviator in a degree dependent on the difference in pressurebetween the contained oxygen and the ambient air. This inward pressure,particularly in the thorax or torso portion of the body assists theaviator to exhale and therefore to breathe more easily at the higheraltitudes. The interior of the helmet is connected by a tubing to thespace between the inner and outer garments. The main disadvantage of thesuit of the coverall type, i.e., two garments overlying one another, isthat the suit provides additional pressure in the ratified atmosphere,not only to the regions of the chest but also to other parts of the bodywhere the inward pressure may not be necessary and to that extent iswasted. Moreover, should any part of the inner or outer garment beruptured in any manner, such as by flak or shrapnel, the pressureexerted by the inner garment against the body would be immediately lostas would also the supply of oxygen to the helmet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide animproved aviators suit which would be pressurized over only limitedportions of the suit in order to reduce the vulnerable area to ruptureby flak and consequent loss of gas pressure.

Another object is to provide a double thickness aviators suit in whichthe outer garment prevents the inner garment from expanding outwardlyand extends over only the torso portion of the inner garment whereby thelatter is caused to press inwardly against a limited portion of theaviators body and provide greater comfort when breathing in a raritiedatmosphere.

Another object is to provide an improved three position valve for use inconnection with a bladder-containing pressure suit and by which thefilling of the bladder and helmet is controlled and the gas to thebladder is immediately cutoff upon rupture of that member withoutdisturbing the passage of gas to the helmet.

These objects are attained in brief by providing a suit of singlethickness material made in the form of a coverall and employing a jerkinor vest which surrounds only the upper part of the suit. The jerkin issecured to the suit and a bladder containing oxygen is interposedbetween the inner suit and the jerkin. The long coverall suit is made ofan elastic material such as neoprene rubber and the vest orjerkin ismade of a flexible and inextensible material such as Dacron. A valve isattached to the vest and is under the control of the aviator, the valvehaving three positions (1) in which oxygen is admitted to the helmetwhile permitting the bladder to exhaust to ambient, (2) continuing thepressure to the helmet and allowing the bladder to fill with oxygen and(3) prevent the escape of gas from the helmet when the bladder becomesruptured.

Other objects and features will be apparent as the specification isperused in connection with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of an aviatorsbasic pressure suit to which the improved bladder-containing jerkin andthe improved valve have been applied.

FIGS. 2 to 4 represent enlarged sectional views of an improved gascontrol valve used in connection with a bladder and helmet and havingthree different positions, regulated by the aviator.

FIG. 5 depicts a vertical sectional view through the valve and takenalong line 55 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of the basic or foundation suit and thesurrounding jerkin or vest with the improved control valve in place.

FIG. 7 depicts a view considerably enlarged, and in perspective, of thebladder accessory which is attached to the interior surface of thejerkin.

FIG. 8 represents a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-- 8 in FIG.7.

FIG. 9 is a similar view taken along line 9-9 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 depicts a rear view of the vest showing the relative position ofthe bladder (in dotted line) contained within the vest.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1, a foundation suit 1 of standardconstruction is employed and. made of a rubberized cloth material suchas sold under the name of Neoprene. The material is highly elastic andthe suit, when in use, lies preferably next to the bare skin of theaviator. The suit extends, as indicated at 2, down to the boots (notshown) and also to the gloves 3 of the person. The weave of the suitmaterial is sufficiently loose as to obtain as much natural ventilationas possible. There is a large vertical opening (not shown) at the frontportion of the suit for donning purposes. This opening is closed by azipper (not shown).

A vest or jerkin 4 is fitted over the suit 1 according to my inventionand which extends down almost to the knee indicated at 5 and well beyondthe crotch 6. The front of the vest, almost its entire length, isprovided with an opening closed by zipper 7 to allow the aviator to donthe vest. The latter is provided with arm holes at 8 and is attached bysnaps (not shown) at this position to the sleeves l of the foundationsuit. The lower edges of the leg portions 5 of the vest are similarlyattached to the legs of the underneath garment l. The vest is made of aclosely woven fabric to keep out moisture and is made of a polymer suchas Dacron, which is strictly inextensible, i.e., it can neither expandnor contract when subjected to a contained gas pressure. In order toprovide for natural ventilation, wedge-shaped inserts 9 of loosely wovenDacron cloth may be provided at the side seams of the vest as seen inFIG. 6, these inserts extending from just below the arm openings to thebottom of the vest. The inserts cooperate with the porous character ofthe foundation suit 1 to provide ample ventilation of the doublethickness garment. The vest can be donned by the aviator similar to ashort overcoat after the bladder referred to hereinafter has been placedin position between the two garments.

The upper end of the vest terminates in a standard metal neck bank 10 ofthe usual construction and is provided with screw threads (not shown)for receiving the circular-threaded portion of a helmet 1 1 made of atransparent plastic material.

In accordance with one aspect of my invention, there is positionedwithin the vest or jerkin a bladder structure generally indicated at 12and made preferably of a rubberized plastic material such as Neoprene.Thus, the bladder has the facility of expansibility and is closely wovenso as to be completely air and moisture proof. The member takes on asplit form, as seen in FIG. 7, having two spaced portions 13, 14, whichmerge into a single piece portion 15 at the upper right hand position asseen in the FIGURE. Dividing the bladder in the manner stated becomesnecessary in view of the position of the longitudinal opening in thevest closed by the zipper 7. The bladder constitutes a double-walledunit in which the walls are spaced apart as seen in FIGS. 8 and 9 andjoined together at their edges to leave flat margins. The marginportions can be sewed as indicated by the short lines 16 withoutpenetrating the interior space of the bladder. The bladder is placed inposition within the vest such that the split portions l3, 14 extend onopposite sides of the zippered opening 7 and while in separate form passaround the shoulder of the vest finally merging into one piece down theback of the vest as indicated by the dotted lines 18 in FIG. 10.

As stated hereinbefore, the purpose of the bladder 12, when filled withgas under pressure, is to apply pressure against the vest 4 which inview of its inextensive character causes the inner surface of thebladder to expand toward the body and thus press the inner garmentagainst the thorax or torso of the aviator. This force becomes greateras the ambient air pressure becomes less due to the higher altitudes andthe inward pressure increases (Boyles Law) in accordance with therarification of the air to keep the breathing comfort of the aviator atan optimum condition. For controlling the admission of breathable gas,such as oxygen, to the bladder, and in accordance with another aspect ofmy invention, a valve device 19, as shown in FlGS. l to 5, is employed.The device is carried on a flat plate 20 of plastic material which issewn or cemented to the exterior surface of the vest 4 at a position ascan readily be reached by the aviator. A ring 21 of plastic material issecured to the plate 20, this ring being provided with openings in thevalve which receive tubing 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26. Conduit 22 isconnected to a source of oxygen (not shown) at to pounds p.s.i.a. forsupplying the helmet through the conduit 23. The tubing 25 is connectedto a check valve 27 as indicated in FIG. 2, the purpose of which will bedescribed hereinafter. The tubing 24 provides an escape for the trappedgas in the bladder to ambient atmosphere through an angularly shapedpassageway 28 formed within the rotor of the valve and the tubing 26.The rotor, designated at 29, carries a knob 30 (H0. 5) and is rotatablyheld in any suitable manner against the plate 20. Thus, by turning theknob, the rotor can be turned within certain limits to any one of thethree positions seen in FIGS 2, 3 and 4 respectively and thus controlthe emptying of stale gas from the bladder as well as admitting freshoxygen to the bladderand the helmet. The rotor 29 has countersunkcompartments 31 which are segmentally shaped, and also a radiallyextending opening 32, as well as the angularly shaped passageway 28formed in the upraised portions. The depth of the countersunk portionsare such as to leave a wall 33 of substantial thickness (FIG. 5) at theinner end or bottom of the rotor.

The flat portion of the ring 21, at the position of the tubing 22 bearsthe word source and midway between the ends of the upraised segment 34,there is the mark Off to which the arrow 35 on the segment is pointed(FIG. 2). The term Fill" is applied to the ring opposite from the faredge of the segment 34. The term Mission Complete" or its abbreviationMC is applied midway between the upraised segments 34 and 35 while"helmet is applied at the position of the tubing 23. The term Bypass isapplied near the tubing 24 and Ambient" is applied near the angularlyshaped passageway 28. The direction of movement of the oxygen flowingthrough the source" opening, then through the compartment 31 to thehelmet is indicated by the arrows. The direction of movement of the gastrapped in the bladder at the beginning of the operation is also shownby an arrow at the positions marked Bypass and Ambient."

The second or position No. 2, as shown in FIG. 3, is used manually toinflate the chest bladder when desired to improve the breathing comfortof the aviator while retaining ventilation within the suit. in thatposition, the oxygen causes the bladder to expand and in view of therigid restraint imposed by the inextensibility of the vest, the bladderpresses inwardly against the thorax portion of the body. Whereas in thefirst and second positions of the rotor, the conduit 24 is incommunication with the bladder to vent the stale gas, when the rotor isturned to position 3, illustrated in FIG. 4, the vent through the tubing26 is closed and as to whether the bladder will receive gas through thepassageway 32 will depend on the condition of the check valve 27. Thelatter is of standard construction including the use of a tension spring36 and a ball valve 37 which cooperate to cutoff the flow of gas throughthe tubing 25 to the bladder when the back pressure on the valve, i.e.,produced by the pressure of any gas contained in the bladder, becomesless than a predetermined amount. Thus, assuming that the bladder ispunctured by flak or shrapnel so that the member cannot retain any gaspressure, in that event, the pressure within the compartment 31 whichsupplies the helmet with oxygen overcomes the tension of the spring 36to allow the ball to close the conduit 25. Thus, even though the bladderis no longer supplied with the oxygen on account of the rupture, thehelmet is still supplied with breathable gas and the remaining supply ofoxygen is conserved in that a portion of it will not be dissipatedthrough the torn bladder. This action would allow the aviator more timein which to complete his mission even though greater effort might beimposed upon him to breathe. However, the .valve would normally beplaced in position 2 unless there is a strong likelihood that thebladder would be ruptured, in which case the valve would be moved toposition No. 3. This third position of the valve is therefore aptlytermed Mission Complete" or simply MC, to which the arrow on the rotoris pointed in FIG. 4.

From the foregoing, it is evident that l have disclosed an oxygen supplysystem, employing a manually adjustable valve and bladder containedwithin a vest and which normally overlies an ordinary foundation garmentfor providing more breathing balance, and when necessary automaticallycuts off the oxygen supply to the bladder in the event of rupture fromwhatever cause.

While I have shown the valve, as attached to the exterior surface of thevest or jerkin, it is obvious that it could be placed in any othersuitable position within reach of the aviator. As long as the bladder isable to retain the gas, the latter will expand in the rarifiedatmosphere and in accordance with Boyle's Law will exert a commensuratepressure on the thorax region of the aviator to make breathing morecomfortable for him.

I claim:

1. In combination a pressure suit for an aviator comprising an innerstretchable fabric garment which is adapted to lie next to the skin ofthe aviator; an outer nonstretchable garment covering at least a portionof said inner garment; a flexible rubberlike expansible bladderinterposed between the garments; a helmet hermetically attached to saidouter garment; means including a rotatable valve attached to the outergarment and operable by the aviator for controlling the amount of gasadmitted to the bladder and for supplying the bladder and said helmetwith breathable gas at a pressure as to cause the bladder to expandinwardly against the inner expansible garment when the atmospherebecomes rarified as higher altitudes are reached; said rotatable valvemeans having three positions (1) in which oxygen is supplied to thehelmet while connecting the bladder to ambient air, (2) in which oxygenis supplied to the helmet and the bladder and (3) in which the oxygen issupplied to the helmet and the bladder, with a check valve meansconnected in the bladder supply line responsive to a predetermineddifferential pressure between the helmet and bladder for shutting offthe gas supply to the bladder while maintaining the gas pressure in thehelmet in the case of bladder rupture.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 and in which each of theinner and outer garments is porous and a closure member extending alongthe front portion of the outer garment in order to don the same, saidbladder having front split portions and extending along opposite sidesof the closure member from the front thigh portion up over the shoulderportion on the respective sides of the closure member, said splitbladder portions merging into a single unit from the shoulder down tothe rear thigh portion.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 and in which said bladder isconstituted of rubberized elastic material.

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1. In combination a pressure suit for an aviator comprising an innerstretchable fabric garment which is adapted to lie next to the skin ofthe aviator; an outer nonstretchable garment covering at least a portionof said inner garment; a flexible rubberlike expansible bladderinterposed between the garments; a helmet hermetically attached to saidouter garment; means including a rotatable valve attached to the outergarment and operable by the aviator for controlling the amount of gasadmitted to the bladder and for supplying the bladder and said helmetwith breathable gas at a pressure as to cause the bladder to expandinwardly against the inner expansible garment when the atmospherebecomes rarified as higher altitudes are reached; said rotatable valvemeans having three positions (1) in which oxygen is supplied to thehelmet while connecting the bladder to ambient air, (2) in which oxygenis supplied to the helmet and the bladder and (3) in which the oxygen issupplied to the helmet and the bladder, with a check valve meansconnected in the bladder supply line responsive to a predetermineddifferential pressure between the helmet and bladder for shutting offthe gas supply to the bladder while maintaining the gas pressure in thehelmet in the case of bladder rupture.
 2. The combination as set forthin claim 1 and in which each of the inner and outer garments is porousand a closure member extending along the front portion of the outergarment in order to don the same, said bladder having front splitportions and extending along opposite sides of the closure member fromthe front thigh portion up over the shoulder portion on the respectivesides of the closure member, said split bladder portions merging into asingle unit from the shoulder down to the rear thigh portion.
 3. Thecombination set forth in claim 2 and in which said bladder isconstituted of rubberized elastic material.